


anything hurts less than the quiet

by felicity (minervajeanlupin)



Category: NCT (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Confused Jeon Wonwoo, Crossover Pairings?? I guess??, Fun ship names, M/M, Making my parents more disappointed in me one day at a time, Panic Attacks, Soft Kim Jungwoo (NCT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 16:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18098267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minervajeanlupin/pseuds/felicity
Summary: “Thanks, hyung.” Jungwoo smiled gratefully. “I, um. I guess I’ll see you around?”Wonwoo studied him with his impossibly dark eyes. “Yeah. I hope you will.”





	anything hurts less than the quiet

**Author's Note:**

> idk man i just thought the ship name would be funny 
> 
> (title is from a troye sivan song)

Jungwoo blindly stumbled to the nearest deserted changing room and collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes and he tried his hardest to blink them away, remembering how upset the makeup noonas had been the last time he’d cried and messed up his eyeliner.

He’d thought it was supposed to get better. He thought that after the first few performances, his nerves would fade and he’d get the elated, carefree feeling of being on stage that Mark and all the others seemed to embody so easily.

He could tell the other members were getting frustrated with him. They were all trying their best to be caring and understanding, of course they were, but he knew they were getting a bit impatient by his constant fits of panic. _He_ was getting pretty annoyed at himself, but he had no idea how to make it stop.

He crouched into a ball, trying his hardest not to crumple his clothes in the process, and sobbed quietly, his breath loud and raspy in the silent room.

The door swung open, but he paid it no heed, hoping the person would just ignore him and go away.

“Hi, you okay?” a voice asked, sounding concerned and slightly awkward. The voice was deeper than any of his members’, so hopefully they didn’t know where he was yet.

Jungwoo nodded stiffly, but he didn’t hear footsteps leaving. “I’m fine,” he managed to choke out.

The guy stepped closer and Jungwoo buried his head deeper in his arms, determined not to let the other guy see who he was. He really didn’t want to be forever known as _that_ idol, the one who couldn’t handle the pressure and broke down.

“It’s okay if you’re not,” the other said slowly. He sat next to Jungwoo, their shoulders brushing slightly, and the warm, solid presence helped Jungwoo focus, stay grounded, a little bit. “I still get anxious when I perform, and it’s been three years.”

Jungwoo bit his lip nervously. So he _was_ talking to another idol and, on top of that, a sunbae. Great. Just…great. Could this get any more humiliating?

The other man seemed to sense Jungwoo’s discomfort and moved away. “I can, um, go if you want. Whenever I have panic attacks, I like being alone, but I’ve read that it helps most people if there’s someone with them so…yeah. I’ll leave you alone, I guess. Uh, sorry for intruding.” He got up to leave and Jungwoo’s right side suddenly felt cold and empty.

“Wait,” he rasped out. He finally looked and widened his eyes in surprise.

The other man was tall, with sharp eyes and dark hair. Despite his cold appearance, he was dressed in a light-colored suit, clearly for a performance. Jungwoo couldn’t recognize him, so he guessed he wasn’t from the Big Three.

“I’m sorry, um, what’s your name, sunbae?” Jungwoo asked nervously. He wasn’t the best around new people.

The other boy didn’t seem to be either though, thankfully. He stood up straighter and looked a bit grateful. “Jeon Wonwoo. I’m in Seventeen.”

Ah. Seventeen. Jungwoo had listened to a few of their songs because he had a taste for happy songs and that seemed to be most of their concepts, and because a few of the members were friends with them. It was interesting, though- just as Jungwoo didn’t exactly fit a lot of NCT U’s bad-boy concepts (heck, his entire position in the group was known as “purity”), Wonwoo didn’t seem to fit in with Seventeen’s whole flowery type theme. He wanted to voice this but smiled lightly, shyly, instead.

“Thank you, Wonwoo sunbae,” he said in his trademark soft voice, the one that had people straining to hear. “I really appreciate you helping me.”

“It’s no problem,” Wonwoo shrugged as though it really was an inconsequential act. “I usually come here whenever I need a breather too. It’s almost always deserted, in case you ever need to use it again in the future.”

“I’ll keep it mind.” Jungwoo promised. He checked his phone and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t see any frantic messages from Doyoung. So he wasn’t _too_ late, then. “I should probably go, my performance is coming up. It was very nice meeting you!” he added hurriedly as he scrambled to his feet.

“You too. I think Seventeen’s performance is after, you should check it out,” Wonwoo blurted out before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, Hoshi constantly tells me to promote Seventeen to whomever I can and I guess it’s just automatic at this point.”

“It’s no problem,” Jungwoo laughed as he stuck his head out of the room, checking to see if the coast was clear. It was. With a final smile at Wonwoo, who grinned back (he had a nice smile, Jungwoo noted absentmindedly), he left to go find his group.

And, as usual, Jungwoo was fine on stage. His makeup artist silently covered up the faint tear tracks on his face, no longer commenting on them and only giving him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, which he was grateful for. He didn’t mess up any of his solo lines, he did all the dance moves perfectly, and smiled at the camera at all the right moments to even louder cheers from the fans.

He stumbled off stage, his sweat-drenched bangs covering his face, exhausted but some remaining exhilaration keeping him moving.

Someone handed him a bottle of water and he took it gratefully.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, looking up to the person before freezing. It was Wonwoo.

“You were...really, really good out there, Jungwoo-shi.” Wonwoo offered. “Your voice is amazing.”

Now, Jungwoo was an affectionate person. All of the members knew that. Wonwoo, unfortunately, did not, so he stumbled back, eyes wide, as an almost 6-ft tall man who he’d spoken to twice reached over and hugged him tightly. He awkwardly tried to reciprocate, patting Jungwoo on the arm.

Jungwoo seemed to realize what he’d done and let go. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” he yelped, his voice still soft despite his embarrassment. “I’m a touchy-feely kind of person, I’m so so sorry sunbae-”

“Hyung,” Wonwoo shrugged.

Jungwoo paused. “...what?”

“Call me hyung. And it’s fine. I’m not that affectionate with people, but I really don’t mind. If that’s your way of thanking people, then who am I to judge?”

“Thanks, hyung.” Jungwoo smiled gratefully. “I, um. I guess I’ll see you around?”

Wonwoo studied him with his impossibly dark eyes. “Yeah. I hope you will.”

Later, as they were driving back to the dorms, Jungwoo was even more quiet than usual. He smiled softly to himself, oblivious to the laughter and yelling coming from the other members, one hand clutching his water bottle, the other holding his phone with a brand new contact saved in it.


End file.
